Nintendo’s newest Switch gamble is a line of build-it-yourself cardboard toys called Nintendo Labo

Let it never be said that Nintendo are afraid to take a gamble on a big idea. Still riding the immense wave of success generated by the Switch, Nintendo are doubling down on interactivity with Nintendo Labo, a line of build-it-yourself toys made out of cardboard. I know, I know, like most Nintendo announcements, it sounds insane. Hit the jump and watch the trailer, it’ll make more sense then, I promise.

See? I told you. It’s still weird but it makes more sense now, right?

The Nintendo Labo toys feature different builds of varying complexity and interact with various games and Switch hardware configurations to provide an interesting AR experience. It’s origami meets the toys-to-life genre.

For parents, the big questions are squarely aimed at the quality of Labo’s cardboard. Presumably Nintendo has gone with cardboard because its cheap to produce and easy to replace, much like the Google Cardboard VR viewer. That said, I know for sure that when I was a kid, I could have mangled any one of these intricate cardboard dream machines without breaking a sweat. I probably wouldn’t have even been finished building it yet when the mangling occurred.

Yeah, time’s gonna tell on this one. Though, if my experience with Nintendo products in the past has taught me anything its that their flights of fancy like Labo always seem bizarre on the page, but clarify themselves perfectly the moment you get your hands on them.

Nintendo Labo launches on April 20, 2018 exclusively for the Nintendo Switch. No word on Australian pricing just yet but we’ll let you know as soon as we have it.